GP Malesya, conferenza stampa giovedì–27/03/2014

Q: Kimi, seventh in Australia and a bulletin from the Ferrari team since then with some quotes from you saying that one of the problems was the brake-by-wire system in particular. Would you give us a bit more detail on that?

Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: ah, I don’t know where that came from. It’s not the issue. There is nothing wrong with the system. Somebody asked me after the race and I said ‘it’s not that’ – because they kind of said ‘is there some issue?’ It’s not true. But just mainly setup to get the car as I like it, as I wanted to have it and I’m sure once… we’re making some stuff for me, so hopefully once we get those it will get a bit more easy to get a bit more feeling in the front end. But it will take a little while. Obviously not the ideal start for the year, for the team, not what we obviously want to achieve. We want to do much better results but after all the difficulties over the weekend and how difficult it was, how many areas, just the small things. At least we got something out and it’s going to be a long year, so hopefully we can now build on it. We have plenty of good people and they’re working flat out as a group to improve things. So, we still have things to do but I’m sure we can keep progressing.

Q: With the nature of this particular circuit, do you think that you and we will be able to see more of what this Ferrari car is capable of this weekend, perhaps than we did in Australia?

KR: I don’t know. Every circuit is different. Obviously it is very hot, humid here, slightly different tyres here I think, so I have no idea. Even from the past years it was very difficult to say from race to race and especially with this new year with new rules. It will be hard but hopefully we get a bit better feeling and overall have a bit more experience and all the things run the weekend through a little bit more cleanly and hopefully get the better results.

Q: (Kate Walker – crash.net) For all of you: we’ve heard quite a lot of negative headlines, negative news reports about the new formula. I’d like to get some positive feedback from you on what these new cars are like to drive and how much fun they are to race.

KR: I don’t think it’s awfully different as a driver, to compare last year’s cars to this year’s. Obviously there are some small detailed issues but it’s the bigger issues that make a difference for me, just to be in a different team. Every team feels a bit different, different cars. It doesn’t really change an awful lot as a driver.

Q: (Adrian Rodriguez Huber – Agencia EFE) Kimi, how has your relationship with Fernando Alonso developed if it has, in any direction, since you guys have become teammates?

KR: It’s good, it always been good. Now, obviously, it’s early days but there was a lot of talk in the media from you guys, different people saying different things, but it’s been good. But the team has been trying to improve things and get the team to where we want to be.

Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Kimi, did you have any temptation to go to drive the simulator to get better settings for you?

KR: No.

Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Sera) Kimi, can we say that Ferrari will be more able to attack Mercedes and the other teams here?

KR: Like I said before, we don’t know how it’s going to be here. I would say it’s a different circuit, it will be very hard for the cars, the heat. We have to wait and see how we can do. Obviously we learned quite a bit on things from the last race but then it’s the same for every team. Hopefully we can be a bit more happy and see where we end up.

Kimi Raikkonen insists that wider set-up issues with his new Ferrari, rather than a specific problem with brake-by-wire, are the cause of his current Formula 1 struggles.

The Finn endured a difficult Australian Grand Prix weekend, having a hard time getting enough confidence with the front-end feel of his F14 T.

Although it was suggested in a team release that the key issue that he needed to resolve was with the brake-by-wire system, the Finn made it clear in Malaysia on Thursday that the problem was much bigger than that.

"I don’t know where that came from, that is not the issue," he said about suggestions he had blamed the brake-by-wire.

"There is nothing wrong with the system. Somebody asked after the race if there was an issue, but it was not true.

"It is mainly set-up – to get the car how I like it to run it. And I am sure that when we make some stuff for it – hopefully once we get those – it will be a bit more easy and I will get a bit more feeling in the front end."

When asked if he had been tempted to work in Ferrari’s simulator to help sort out the set-up problems, Raikkonen said: "No."

Ferrari knows it needs to lift its performance if it is going to be able to challenge early pacesetter Mercedes, but Raikkonen sees no need to doubt that his team can do so.

"Obviously it is not the ideal start for the year, for the team, for what we want to achieve," he said.

"After all the difficulties over the [Australia] weekend, at least we got something out of it.

"Now we can just build on it. There are plenty of good people working flat-out. We still have things to do but I am sure we can keep progress."